Graduate Student Profiles

Rachel's work involves using bioacoustics (passive acoustic monitoring) and environmental sea ice data to understand shifts in bearded seal breeding phenology and calling behavior in relation to climate change in Alaska. 

Jill Munger studies variation in acoustic communities and community behavior associated with mangrove restoration efforts in British Virgin Island

Miguel de Jesus Gomez Garcia believes that modern quantitative methods can significantly enhance our comprehension of ecosystems and help address complex conservation and management questions that have proved challenging thus far.

UNH marine biology student Todd Selling studies potential behavioral changes that the American lobster may experience as a result of ocean acidification and ocean warming.

Nia Jeffers research area is mangrove habitat restoration and management with a focus in mangrove restoration methodology.

Ana Silverio uses long-term independent and dependent fisheries catch data from Texas Parks and Wildlife and quantitative tools to look at how extreme events affect coastal fish populations along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Mikayla Cote examines the influence of marine microzooplankton grazing on the production/consumption of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and marine aggregates in general.

Riplee Mercer's research examines a species of nori called Wildemania amplissima and how it can be used in aquaculture in New England.

Faith Frings is interested in developing methods for increasing quantitative literacy in biology courses at the undergraduate level.

Grant Milne explores the use of passive acoustic monitoring and metabarcoding of seawater samples as methods of measuring soundscape properties and detecting marine taxa to identify indicators of the underwater acoustic environment in temperate coastal habitats.

Alyssa Stasse's dissertation work focuses on using genetic techniques, such as genome and transcriptome sequencing, to determine differences between populations of eastern oysters.

Melanie Smith studies how acoustic data can help us to better understand the ecology and behavior of marine mammals, specifically humpback whales in Southeast Alaska